CHAPTER 37: Word Gets Around Fast...

"Chaotix Detective Agency, Vector speaking," Vector said, picking up the phone as it rang the second time.

"Vector, this is Amy," Amy said.

"Ah, Amy," Vector said, reclining in his chair once more, putting his feet up on his desk. "Anything new that I need to know about?"

"Something like that, yeah," Amy said. "I need you to do some more digging, this time into the government's biological operations."

"That'll be impossible for me to pull off," Vector said. "That's getting into the realm of illegal stuff. All accesses are logged, and outsiders are traced. They'd be on me like white on a grain of rice in a glass of milk on a paper plate in a snowstorm. You'd need an insider to do that, and they'd probably need pretty high-level clearance."

"Damn," Amy said. "Things are getting pretty serious here."

"How so?" Vector asked, sitting up in his chair, putting his feet back on the floor. "What's going on?"

"I'm in Main Street Hospital, along with some friends of mine," Amy explained. "You remember the guy I came to your office with the other night? The fox with two tails? He took offense to your comment about being tailed?"

"Yeah," Vector said.

"Well, after we left, we had to go by his makeshift garage, because some of our other friends were attacked by a robot armed with some nasty stuff," Amy continued. "It had a shotgun and a grenade launcher on it, plus some kind of virus. We think it was supposed to be detonated along with an explosive inside the robot. It didn't go up, and the guy I was with the other night accidentally broke the container it was in and cut his finger on it, and the virus got all in his finger. He fainted less than a minute later. The doctors said it's a completely new strain, and they don't think it's a naturally-occurring one."

"They think it was manufactured," Vector said. "And you think the government might be selling it on the black market. Right?"

"Actually I thought it may have been stolen, but that works too," Amy said.

"What do they know about the virus?" Vector asked.

"They've been doing some tests," Amy said. "They're convinced that only he got sick, but they have to be certain, so they're testing us too. So far, the only way they know of that the virus can be transferred is by contact with infected fluids, so they figure it'll be okay to let us have visitors. The virus itself is kind of odd, too. It attacks near the brain and starts copying itself, like any other virus would. But it also creates some kind of hormone that makes the person violent for little to no reason."

"Weird," Vector said. "They're right, that doesn't sound natural."

"Tell me about it," Amy said. "That's about it as far as what they know."

"Great," Vector said. "Guess from here, all I can do is speculate, since I can't screw around in all that high-security computer stuff."

"Well, that's okay," Amy said. "It was really just wishful thinking on my part, anyway."

"Yeah," Vector said. At this moment, his phone beeped. "Uh oh, got another call coming in. Gotta go."

"Alright," Amy said. "Thanks anyway. Bye."

"Later," Vector said, switching over to his other line.

"Crap," Amy said. "There goes that idea."

"Hello, may I help you two?" asked the nurse at the check-in desk. In front of her stood Cream, wearing a white dress with her blue neck ribbon, her rather large shoes, and a hair tie, to keep her ears together. Behind her stood a large blue cat with a white belly; a big, bushy tail; long ears, one of which was split halfway down; a large belt around his waist; a small chain with three gold rings on it and an umbrella in a sort of sheathe on his back: Big the Cat.

"We're here to see Amy," he said in a sort of clueless tone.

"Amy, Amy..." the nurse repeated, looking at her computer. "Surname?"

"Rose," Cream said. "We heard she was here."

"Ah, here she is," the nurse said. "She's in the quarantine section, though. Visitors aren't allowed."

"We heard that she was clear for visitors, Miss," Cream said. At this point, Dr. Lang stepped out of the door leading to the quarantine section.

"Hello," he said pleasantly. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yes, actually," the nurse said. "Have the patients in the quarantine section been cleared for visitors?"

"Yes, they have," Dr. Lang said. Jokingly, he added,"Although I wouldn't recommend going in there, unless you want to risk everyone having sneezing fits."

"We're not worried," Cream said. "Thank you sir."

"My pleasure," Dr. Lang said, heading toward the back of the hospital carrying a plastic container with biohazard labels on it.

"Can we go in now?" Big asked.

"Yes, now that we have that straightened out," the nurse said. She motioned to a clipboard. "Sign in please, and I'll buzz you in. The door's just to the left of the desk." Cream and Big both signed in, and the nurse hit a button on a small panel. A buzzer sounded, and the door unlocked.

"So what did that guy Vector say when you talked to him?" Rouge asked Amy, about thirty minutes after Amy had spoken to Vector.

"No dice," Amy said. "He said he wouldn't be able to check anything out. Said it's getting into illegal stuff, and he'd probably need pretty high clearance to get into the system."

"Figures," Rouge said. "Guess we shouldn't have counted on him to be able to do anything, though."

"I didn't, actually," Amy said. Across the waiting room, Sonic and Dr. Martin were teaching Knuckles to play poker, using a deck of cards that Dr. Martin carried around for when he had some spare time.

"What've you got?" Sonic asked.

"Two pair," Dr. Martin said, laying down his hand and rubbing his left arm. (He'd just had his tests.)

"King high," Sonic said, laying his down. Knuckles laid his hand down, shaking his head.

"All I got's two pair," he said. "A pair of ones, and another pair of ones."

"DAMN!" Sonic exclaimed. "Four aces! You little dick!"

"One of the two unbeatable hands," Dr. Martin said. "This is a classic case of beginner's luck."

"Nah, I'm just good!" Knuckles boasted.

"And I'm getting bored," Sonic said. "Think I'll go watch TV for a bit."

"Me too," Knuckles said. "Figure it's best to quit while I'm still ahead." He and Sonic both got up and headed to their rooms. Dr. Martin sighed.

"And I'll just sit here and play solitaire or something," he said to himself. Back across the room, Rouge stretched and watched Knuckles head into his room.

"I think I'm gonna go spend a little quality time with Knuckles," she said. "I figure now would be the best time to hang out in peace, if ever."

"Ah, man," Amy said as Rouge stood up. "What am I gonna do all alone?"

"Spend some time with Sonic," Rouge suggested. "God knows what you can think of to do with all this free time."

"I could use someone to play a couple of hands with," Dr. Martin called over. Before Amy got a chance to reply, the buzzer sounded.

"What was that?" Amy asked.

"Someone's coming in," Dr. Martin said. "You never noticed the buzzer before?"

"Not really, no," Amy said. She turned and looked toward the door, and it opened a few seconds later. All she saw was white fur and a belt.

"Mr. Big, you're stuck again!" Cream exclaimed behind Big.

"The door's too small!" Big wailed. "I'm stuck!" Amy's jaw dropped.

"Big!?" she cried, shocked. "Cream!?"

"Hi Amy!" Cream called out. "I brought Mr. Big to see you! But he's stuck!"

"Suck it in, Big!" Amy exclaimed. Big sucked in his gut, and stumbled through the door as Cream fell forward into the room.

"Oof!" she cried as she hit the floor. Big regained his balance, then turned around and helped her up.

"You okay?"he asked.

"Yes, thank you," Cream said, shaking her head a little. Big turned around and pulled Amy into a hug tight enough to suffocate a person.

"HI AMY!" he exclaimed.

"Big!" Amy sputtered. "Big, you're crushing me! Lighten up!"

"Oh, sorry," Big apologized, lightening up.

"I'm glad to see you too, but try to control yourself," Amy said, gasping for air.

"Sorry," Big repeated. "I'm just happy to see you."

"Like I said, I'm glad to see you too," Amy said. "How long has it been, like five years now?"

"I think so," Big said, thinking.

"Hey Cream, how did you know I was here?" Amy asked. "I never told you, did I?"

"I remembered you said you went to that Chaotix place," Cream said, "so I called them and asked if they were still working for you. The person I talked to said he'd just gotten off the phone with you. I told him I was a friend of yours, and he told me where you were."

"Vector told you?" Amy repeated. "And he tells ME to be careful."

"He remembered me," Cream said. "Remember, I think it was six years ago, we all had to team up to beat that huge robot? When I gave him my description, he recognized me from back then."

"He remembered that for that long?" Amy asked blankly. "Wow, that's good memory. But, why didn't you just call my cell phone?"

"We tried, but it said you were unavailable," Cream said.

"What's that?" Big asked, sniffing the air.

"What's what?" Amy asked.

"Smells like food," Big said.

"Oh," Amy said. "We had kind of a late lunch."

"Where's everyone else, Amy?" Cream asked. "Are they in their rooms?"

"Yeah," Amy said. She pointed at Knuckles's room and added, "I wouldn't go in there if I were you. God knows what Rouge and Knuckles are doing in there. You can go in the other ones though. Just be careful if you go in the one on the end. Tails is in there. He's slightly messed up in the head right now."

"How so?" Cream asked.

"He gets ticked off really easily, and actually attacks," Amy said. "Knuckles got the first dose. He got it BAD."

"Wow," Cream said in an astounded voice, placing one hand over her mouth. "He sounds really cranky."

"He is," Amy said. Cream looked at Tails's door for a few seconds, then started toward it.

"Sounds like he's probably pretty lonely, too," she said at the same time. "I'll go talk to him for a while, so you and Mr. Big can catch up on things."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Amy said nervously. "He's not in control of it."

"Ah, that was good," Tails said to himself, setting aside his empty lunch tray. He had a little bit of red Jell-O dribbling down his muzzle, which he wiped off with one finger; this he licked clean. A couple of seconds later, he burped loudly. Since no one was present, the traditional "Excuse me" wasn't necessary. He was reaching for the remote to turn on his TV when the door opened, and in walked Cream.

"Hi," she said.

"Uh, hi," Tails said. "Cream, isn't it?"

"That's right," Cream said. "And you're Tails, right?

"Right," Tails said. "Good. We haven't forgotten each other's names, even though it's been several years."

"Right," Cream said. "Anyway, I thought I'd come and talk to you, since you sounded lonely, from what Amy said."

"Thanks for the thought," Tails said. "Anything specific you want to talk about?"

"Not really," Cream said, scratching the back of her head. After a few moments of awkward silence, she said, "I heard you beat someone up in here."

"Yeah," Tails said. "I just lost it and put his face into the wall. Too bad I can't do that in school."

"Why?" Cream asked. "What's wrong with school?"

"People are specifically targeting me to pick on," Tails said. "I mean, literally, I'm the only one."

"That's awful!" Cream cried, putting her hands over her mouth.

"I know," Tails said. "They'll probably wind up killing me or putting me back in the hospital if I don't get something done about it."

"And I thought I had it bad," Cream said.

"How bad do you get it?" Tails asked.

"I get teased about my clothes," Cream said. "All my dresses are identical, except for being different colors."

"Ah, that's nothing," Tails said. "It could be worse. They could be knocking you out every week."

"You're right there," Cream said. "Somebody tried to put me in my locker. One of the teachers stopped her, though."

"You got lucky alright," Tails said. "I had blisters on my feet for days when that happened to me, and I didn't sleep very well that night, since I was stuck standing up."

"Oh my!" Cream gasped. "You're kidding, right?"

"No," Tails said. "It makes me sick just thinking about it. You have no idea how degrading it is to have to be let out of your locker at 4:00 in the morning by your teacher." Cream shook her head.

"It sounds like the worst thing that can happen to a person," she said quietly.

"Not the worst that can happen, but the worst that's happened to me," Tails said. This wasn't ENTIRELY true, since he wasn't willing to admit that he'd taken two swirlies in one breath. Suddenly, a huge yawn came out of nowhere.

"Tired?" Cream asked.

"A little," Tails said. "I could do with a nap. I'm not feeling so good all of a sudden."

"Okay," Cream said. "It was nice talking to you."

"Same here," Tails said. Cream pulled open the door and left the room quietly, in case anyone else was trying to sleep. Tails pulled the blanket up closer to his chin and lay his head down. "Damn, she's cute," he said to himself as he closed his eyes.

"How did that happen to your ear, Big?" Amy asked, pointing at Big's split ear. Big had taken up a spot on the floor against the wall, since he was too broad for the chairs. Amy was sitting in her chair once more.

"Really big mean kitty attacked me, and I had to beat it up," Big said. "It cut my ear real bad and scared Froggy. I couldn't find him for hours."

"Where IS Froggy, anyway?" Amy asked. "I thought you went everywhere with him."

"He stayed home," Big said. "He got a girlfriend."

"Oh," Amy said. She thought to herself, I'll bet it's more of an instinct issue than anything, too.

"How have you been?" Big asked.

"Not bad," Amy said. "I've got a lot going for me, when I stop and think about it. I own a restaurant, got a decent house, a nice car, and I finally netted Sonic. That's not in order of importance, either, in case that thought occurs to you."

"Sounds like you've been good," Big said. "So have I. I caught a fish bigger than me once! It was this long!" He held out both arms as far as he could, which was around seven feet.

"Wow" Amy said. "What kind of fish was it?"

"A big one!" Big said. "But a mean crocodile got it. So I couldn't have it for dinner."

"That's too bad," Amy said.

"Yeah," Big said. Then he started coughing violently.

"Big, are you alright!?" Amy cried out. Big nodded as his coughing lightened up.

"I think I got a cold," he said when he'd stopped coughing altogether. "It's been like that for days. I'm okay."

"That sounded a lot like a chest cold, there," Dr. Martin called over. "Try not to exert yourself too much. That kind of cold can get nasty."

"Okay," Big called back.

"So you've just been hanging out and fishing since I last saw you?" Amy asked.

"Uh huh," Big said.

"Cool," Amy said. "So, did you leave the jungle just to see me, or are you up to something else too?"

"Just wanted to see you and Cream," Big said.

"Well, that makes me feel special," Amy said. "And I mean that, it really does."

"This might sound weird, but why did you go to a detective?" Big asked.

Wow, Amy thought. Either I underestimated how smart he was, or he's gotten smarter in the last few years. At this point, Cream came out into the waiting room and sat down beside Amy.

"Well, I didn't get to talk long, but he didn't seem too cranky," Cream said.

"Good," Amy said. "Anyway Big, to answer your question... Well, I hope you're comfortable, because it's kind of a long story."

"You're serious, aren't you?" Big asked gravely. Amy nodded solemnly.

"I'm afraid so," she said. "Ask Sonic, or anyone else here, for that matter. Well, except the doctors, they don't know anything about it."

"Good thing I decided to stay for a while," Big said. "If they come back, I'll bash them up!" Amy smiled for a moment, but her face turned grave again.

"I know you're strong, Big," she said, "but these robots were armed with high-powered guns. I don't think there'd be much you'd be able to do unless you knew they were there before they did anything." It was Big's turn to smile this time.

"I always come prepared," he said. He reached back around his neck and removed the chain with the gold rings on it. He pulled one ring off of it, and it magically grew in his hand until it was bigger than Amy's bracelets.

"Whoa!" Amy exclaimed. "You still carry those things around?"

"The jungle's a dangerous place, Amy," Big said. He tossed the ring to Amy, then put his necklace back on. "They look pretty, too."

"I know, don't they?" Amy said. "I wonder how I could disguise this thing in case someone tried something. Don't want them knowing I'm protected."

"Maybe you could replace one of your bracelets," Cream suggested. "Those rings are identical to them, except for being bigger."

"And it'll shrink when I put it on my wrist," Amy said, finishing Cream's statement.

"Right," Cream said.

"Hey Big, where did you find those rings, anyway?" Amy asked, slipping the one Big had given her onto her wrist.

"Under a tree," Big said, fingering his necklace. "I got lucky I think. When I find these things and I don't pick them up, the next time I go by, they're gone."

"What I find funny is that they all seemed to just disappear whenever Eggman was beaten," Amy said.

"Weird, isn't it?" Cream said. "It's like they know when they're needed, and they appear and disappear accordingly."

"Yeah, it's crazy," Amy agreed, nodding. Just then, Dr. Martin stood up and stretched, then looked toward Big and Cream.

"I hate to interrupt," he called, "but visiting hours are over pretty soon. You two will have to leave before much longer."

"Aw, man," Cream said.

"I don't like it either," Dr. Martin said, walking over. "The place is a hospital, not a prison. But, rules are rules."

"Alright," Big said glumly, standing up. "I'll come back tomorrow, Amy, don't worry."

"Me too," Cream said.

"Could you guys bring a few things with you when you come back?" Amy asked.

"Sure," Big said. "What?"

"A chessboard might be nice," Amy said. "Rouge probably wouldn't mind if you brought her laptop, either. It's at her apartment, the key's on top of the door frame."

"Anything else?" Big asked.

"Do you think you could sneak a triple bacon cheeseburger in here?" Amy asked.

"I didn't hear a word," Dr. Martin said, walking off toward his room. "That's the least I can do."

"Wonder what he meant by that," Big said.

"Triple bacon cheeseburgers probably aren't allowed here," Amy said. "But I figure Tails could probably do with a little something extra. Well, to tell the truth, we all could, but Tails is the only one who's said anything along those lines."

"We can try," Cream promised.

"Thanks you guys," Amy said.

"We gotta go," Big said. "Bye bye."

"Bye Amy," Cream said.

"See you tomorrow," Amy said as Big and Cream headed for the door. Big pulled it open, and barely managed to fit through the frame. Cream pushed him through the rest of the way once the buzzer sounded to signal that the outer door was unlocked.

Whew, what a lot of dialogue. Well, I got a review asking when Cream would be brought back into the story, and this chapter was the answer to that one. It wasn't specifically because of that, but I figured it kinda was about time to start getting her back in there. Also, as you saw, Big's fat, lovable ass has dragged himself out of the jungle, and upon hearing Amy's story, he provided her with the best protection she's had since Espio(who actually died for a reason, in case some of you are thinking I just felt like killing him. I didn't want to, because he's cool, but, again, I had a reason.). Still, I kinda dislike those lame-ass rings for some reason. I even felt a little uncomfortable with incorporating them into the story. Ah well, amidst all the seriousness of it all, I suppose SOME kind of magic was probably due. Well, least Big's got a cool-looking necklace now. I was considering an ear piercing, but then I remembered those rings don't have gaps in them(of course, maybe a plothole would be kinda nice. Capcom and Nintendo get away with them with the Mega Man and Metroid series, so why can't I?). Well, I think that wraps up this post-chapter afterword. Lemme know what you all think, as usual. See you next chapter... well, sort of.